Sunday, January 29, 2006

Good Bye, Good Men.

This was the title of a very intriguing book a few years ago. It was a string of anecdotal evidence about the methods of screening out and eliminating qualified men from our seminaries because they were too orthodox for the liberal faculties; too masculine for the not-so-.... faculties; and too devoted to Mary, the Church and Pope John Paul for the bureacratic powers that be.

Ok, that being said, I use Mr. Rose's book as a way to make reference to the subtle screening and elimination tendencies that existed (or, should I say, exist?) within various archdiocesan bureacracies. My last post referred to the news that Archbishop Dolan once again hired from within the entrenched Weakland-ites when he appointed Ms. Debra Lethlean as Director of Development for the Archdiocese. Maybe I had a twinge of guilt, had I been unfair to Ms. Lethlean in my last posting? So, I decided to look more closely at the archdiocesan fundraising efforts.

Campus Ministry -- from what I hear, the Newman Center at UWM has, for years, been problematic at best.Community Services -- what exactly does all of this mean anyway?Human Concerns/Respect Life -- OK, it says this...but have you ever, I mean EVER, seen a diocesan employee in front of a clinic praying?Prayer and Worshp -- Oh yeah, they have been real active in the last 25 years.Office for Women -- ?????? What can I, or need I, say?St. Francis Seminary -- read other posts, and Michael Rose's book.

Now to my point about the subtle elimination of solid men for the priesthood. I am all for lay participation in every level of the Church. Without us, the priests would have a hard time getting anything done (in fact, they would look kind of foolish). But, that does not justify the manner by which our priests, at least our solid ones, are being pretty much forced out of their leadership roles? Why is this carried to the point where all things priestly are called "clerical" as a negative, and thus to be eliminated?

Admittedly, this is something which Archbishop Dolan inherited from his predecessor. But what has he done to ebb the anti-priest tide. The example that caught my eye today was when I clicked on the stewardship page entitled Testimonials.

Okay, so here is my question...is there not one priest in all of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee who was willing to offer a testimonial in support of the Stewardship Appeal? Some might say that no priest testimonial might be better than a bad one. But, there are good priests out there who, however reluctantly, still support the Archdiocese.

I fear that what is really happening is that, once again, Ms. Lethlean is enforcing what has become the Church's version of political correctness. Unfortunately, without a connection between our faith and our priests, we implicitly forfeit our constant connection to the Eucharist. I guess that this need to stay connected to the Eucharist might not dawn on Archbishop Dolan's personal staff.

Oh, but fear not...while there is no priest to offer a supportive testimonial...there is one from a "Certified Healing Touch Practitioner." Thank you Archdiocese of Milwaukee for reflecting the priorities of the local Church, and the strength of our tradition!?!

I wrote a lengthy report of my experience at St Francis Seminary during the 80's and mailed it to Michael Rose. I used initials only, rather than full names. I used an anonymous mailing address, and he replied in writing, asking me to call him by phone. He was very interested in my story, but because I wished to remain anonymous, and would not call him in order to speak to him persoanlly, he chose not to include my account of St Francis Seminary. (He should still have my written testimnony in his possession) THE STORY NEEDS TO BE TOLD! I urge others more courageous than I to come forward.

I was in a minor seminary where Fr. Windsor was teaching. I can attest to some very odd things that happened. Of course I was only 14 at the time, but I remember on one occassion especially, we were required to read aloud in his room (he would often have class in his room...it was a small class) the Symposium by Plato. This among other things discusses boys and men having sex. What possible place does that have in forming a priest? This is only one example and to be honest I've put the whole seminary thing behind me. I am really concerned though about what he is teaching the college kids. If you find it hard to believe I would advise you to email or talk to Fr. Windsor and ask him if it's true. It really does need to be brought up. I don't think his ideas are really good for the formation of priests (only my opinion).

Alot of really good kids got really confused and lost their vocation. The shortage of priest isn't for lack of men wanting to serve God, it's the lack of the Spirit in the seminarys. As far as Goodbye! Good Men. It alleges that Fr.Windsor is a practicing homosexual...I don't (can't) believe that for a minute. I just think he helps to foster an environment where it thrives. Personally, I don't have a problem with a priest or brother having thoughts like this, but they need to understand that it's wrong and ask the Spirit to cleanse it from thier mind and fast and do penance. After all, Jesus said that anything you ask in my name I will give you.